Preparation

Noticed a citrus-y or eucalyptus-type aroma in the dry leaf. Resulting brew has a bit of a burnt-bitter note which masks the other flavours. Goji berry flavour is sweet with a savory edge. Mouthfeel is medium to light in thickness. Green tea has a bit of a metallic taste. Hint of grapefruit taste

Flavors: Metallic

Preparation

I let the flowering tea ball infuse for as long as it took for it to bloom. I’m not too sure about the amount of water that was used but it may have been too much as the final tea tasted dilute. Jasmine flavour at the forefront. Sweetness present but overall dilute in taste.

The flowering tea bloom itself was not overly impressive. It looked like two small orange/red coloured buds/flowers held within a green tea leaf nest.

Immediately after I steeped this one, it seemed apparent that I either overleafed or oversteeped, as I was getting an astringent, metallic aroma from the brewed cup. Bleh. However, I tried some anyways, and it seems that those aromas are just part of the tea – perhaps I didn’t brew it perfectly, but it’s definitely not nearly as screwed up as I would have thought! The flavour is kind of a brothy, almost smoky vegetal green, with a twist of sweetness at the end of the sip. This is not chewy Laoshan Green vegetal though, more of a… cruciferous vegetable sort? It’s also a touch seaweedy/mariney, which aren’t notes in Laoshan Green. There’s some astringency as well, but as Raritea mentioned, it fits ok here. I still prefer my teas to be as astringency-free as possible, but this is quite tolerable.

Overall, I’m actually reasonably impressed by this one. Primarily because of the lingering sweet aftertaste, most likely, which is a hallmark of a tasty green tea, to me. I’d certainly happily drink this again – I feel like it would be a great accompaniment to a meal, as it’s fairly flavourful and tasty. We’ll see how it fares overnight next to my bed… I brought up way too many teas to finish them all off (so left a couple sips of this one). Most greens do quite poorly when left to sit, but the for the occasional one, it works!

ETA: Second infusion way too astringent. I have yet to figure out the sweet spot for second infusions of green teas :(

Preparation

Thanks again to raritea for this sample. I figured since I was on a green tea start this morning, i might as well try a few of them back to back so that I could do a comparison to an extent. While this one isn’t a bad straight green, I miss the sweetness that the previous one had. This is more vegetal and yet not. it’s also more astringent and there’s an after taste that I’m not a fan of. I appreciate the sample share Raritea!

Many thanks for the sample Raritea!
I liked this. Bad idea to try it right after kale chips… ha!
On the second steep now and it’s still nice. Very floral, with a mild cinnamon note, whereas the first one was more vegetal and butter with floral in the background.
Huh, I am getting an odd broth note in the swallow. Almost bubbly even. Must be the power of suggestion, as I saw someone elses review earlier today that mentioned that.
No no, after another sip, it is still rather broth like!

My roommate gave me a sample of this one tonight. Not sure what it is, other than a flavoured green. I tasted what was coming off to me as rosewater; it was less floral than other rose blends I’ve had, but that’s the closest I could come to an accurate description! The re-steep wasn’t bad either, but as I’m not overly fond of floral-ish teas, this wouldn’t ever be a favourite of mine. Still, it was nice of her to let me try some!

Preparation

Mmmm, such tasty milk oolong. I haven’t had this in ages, and probably won’t again until I’ve finished off more of the samples I have. I’m glad this is locally-available, because it’s one of my favourites.

Preparation

Almost gone :( I think there’s maybe a scant travel mug’s worth left of this one now. Luckily, I have a few others to replace it, so I won’t need to pick up any more for a while. This one’s tasty as always, although I think my tastebuds are craving something a bit fruitier right now… I wish I had time to go investigate and find exactly what they want, but I really don’t…

Preparation

This is the only tea made up for the travel mug today, as I a) got up really late for my meeting, and b) only stayed at work for the meeting, and then came home. I definitely like milk oolongs warm and not hot. Hot, not enough milkiness comes out for me. So drinking my thermos-ful about 8 hours later was perfect :D

I’m almost out of this one now too, after sipping down the DT version a bit ago… but I did order a couple Jin Xuans from Tealux, so those are next up before I get to go all ordering crazy.

My sincerest apologies – I’m going to be a bit of a tealogging machine in the next few minutes, because I haven’t logged any teas all day yet have been drinking them and playing board games/chatting with Sil, Indigobloom, and Raritea all day! And Steepster wasn’t behaving on my phone.

Anyhow, started off the day with an absolutely fabulous travel mug of this one. Probably one of the best cups I’ve brewed of it yet! Currently enjoying a re-steep as well, since these leaves have a lot left in them!

Preparation

I cannot focus at ALL today. I slept badly and am facing a huge decision in probably the next few days… whether or not to stay here and commit to a PhD in an area which will be extremely challenging for me, which also means that I won’t be done school until I’m over 30… Gah. Major decision stress, on top of the fact that I’m supposed to be finishing my Masters project by April….

Anyways… drinking some of this in the hopes of finding some sort of answers?? Or at least, a way to focus and make some progress on work… I’ve been sitting here for nearly an hour and a half and all I’ve managed to do is drag a few calculations down an Excel column, and trim a substantial number of split ends… Well, at least this tea is delicious and reliable. Sigh.

(Yep, sorry, hardly a tasting note at all, just a life rant. Bleh.)

Preparation

If you need someone to chat with about the decision of entering a PhD program, PM me. Not sure what your field is, but I’m a PhD student myself finishing my program now (and desperately hoping I get a job for next year).

I’m over 30, just finishing my undergrad, and thinking about doing a Masters. ACK! Finishing school late truly isn’t a horrible thing. It might mean you’re competing with much younger folks in the job market when you’re done, but your maturity will give you an advantage.

Note to self: don’t make 2 thermos-fuls of tea next time you go to the airport, because it will turn out that by the time the tea cools enough to be drinkable, you’re already at the airport, and then you have to chug an entire litre of tea before going through security, because of course you can’t just dump absolutely delicious/perfectly good tea out!! True story. And yes, I drank all four cups worth of tea (2 of this and 2 of Cashew Turtle). Luckily, it seemed I was dehydrated anyhow.

Anyways! This was tasty in a thermos, no surprise. I even saved the once-used tea leaves in their infuser in a ziploc, and packed it in my checked bag, and re-steeped it today. Still tasty. Haha, I felt like an addict or something though.

Preparation

My roommate picked some of this up for me for Christmas, since I’m running low on the DavidsTea version and Bon Thé Place in downtown Guelph was having a sale!

I took this to work in a travel mug, so it’s tough to say too much, except that it was pretty tasty. I’m not sure how the milkiness compares to other milk oolongs, but it was quite satisfying. I guess I didn’t wash out my mug very well though, as when I reached the bottom, it tasted much like Banana Oolong… which was in the mug yesterday. Thankfully no lingering stevia, so it was ok with me! I will, however, use the bottle brush on the mug tonight. Haha.

I haven’t always enjoyed smoky teas, but I’m slowly coming around to the point where I can enjoy them. This one is pretty nice, smoky, rich, caramel-y, with a nice fruity tone that lies just beneath the smoky surface. Really pleasant.

Brothy taste with buttery edge. Hints of vegetal green tea taste with accompanying sweetness in the background. Vaguely reminiscent of a floral taste in the aftertaste. Light and well-placed astringency which compliments the brew.

This is a decent Russian Caravan! It’s a medium-strong smoky aroma but the taste is nicely done. The flavor on the tongue isn’t as hardcore as some other RC’s but certainly pleasing to my palate. It doesn’t leave a funky aftertaste either and that’s always a plus. This is pretty good, pretty good indeed!

Oy.. I think I put too many leaves in this one this time, because I didn’t steep it all that long. Has quite the bite to it. I’ll just write from memory of the first time I tried it (a few hours ago).Smells almost identical to Wild Black Yunnan from DAVIDsTEA, which is a good sign I suppose. Tastes different, though. There’s a subtle sweetness and a whole lot of woodsy. A bit smoky and a bit peppery on the tongue but not as overbearing as the Wild Black Yunnan (not that I minded that). Very full-bodied. Brings to mind an old mossy forest at dusk, the scent of woodsmoke from a nearby cabin gently kissing the air. The kind of tea to sip slowly beside a campfire or stargazing with a good friend.Hm, if I’m talking like that, it’s safe to say I like it. I chose it as a free sample but I’ll have to add it to my ever-growing wish/purchase list.